


Friendship Event Horizon

by obstinateRixatrix



Category: diamond is unbreakable, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 18:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5795284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obstinateRixatrix/pseuds/obstinateRixatrix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>buckle up kiddos this buddy system's for life</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friendship Event Horizon

There was a time Josuke thought of Morioh as a quiet, peaceful town. Sure, it has its fair share of... well, serial killers and kidnappers, but gramps never was one to mix family and work; that kinda stuff, it's something he knew, but it's not something he _knew_.

Now he's staring at the electrocuted corpse of the second guy who's tried to kill him in the past hour, hanging off a telephone pole. The first guy, he's staring too as Koichi manages to climb up and join them. Koichi blinks once, twice, as if he can't believe what he's seeing; it's probably the first time he's been exposed to a dead body, and he looks at a loss. _He's not the only one_ , Josuke thinks. Before he can say anything, the guy beside him, Okuyasu, takes a step forward, never looking away from where the body hangs.

"My brother... he was never going to have a peaceful life, not after everything he's done. He was destined to have this kind of ending. I knew that." Despite the tremble of his hands, Okuyasu's voice betrays nothing but certainty. He seems unreadable at first, expression obscured by the tilt of his chin, but when he turns it's painfully obvious he's the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. "In the end, he still tried to protect me. You saw that, right?"

"Yeah," because honestly, what else could anyone say to that. "I saw."

Okuyasu lets out what's more of a slow breath than a sigh and withdraws into himself, which seems to be their cue to leave. They make their way down, nodding awkwardly to the Nijimura patriarch as they pass by, and Josuke fixes up the house on the way out, whatever he can, seeing as he's partially responsible for some of the damage. It's not until they're past the gate Koichi breaks their mutual silence.

"Shouldn't we do something?" he asks, glancing up towards the telephone pole.

Josuke thinks for a second, considering they _can_ do. "We shouldn't leave the body there, but calling the police might not be a great idea." It's not like law enforcement can actually do anything, not against a stand user. Plus, they’d try to get Okuyasu to explain everything - stands, the bow and arrow, his brother, his dad... that's not gonna do any favors for anyone. Still, there's gotta be people that deal with clean up, both in the literal and figurative sense. He doesn't really have experience with this kind of thing, but luckily, he knows someone who does. "Let's call Jotaro," he decides, walking towards his house.

"First," Koichi says, fishing a handkerchief out of his pocket, "you should probably get cleaned up."

 

* * *

 

The next day Josuke gets up bright and early. His morning routine has a strict schedule; with hair like his, he's gotta drag himself out of bed at ass o'clock in the morning, and no amount of near-death experiences will change that fact of life. After styling his pompadour to perfection, he goes down for breakfast, as usual, he gets nagged by his mom, as usual, and he's out the door, as usual.

In hindsight, he probably should've seen this coming, but it doesn't quite sink in until he's staring at Okuyasu from across the street. 

Ah, right. Neighbors.

Okuyasu seems similarly taken aback, frozen mid-stride out the gate, and Josuke's wracking his brain for something to say, something that isn't insensitive, something appropriately delicate, but not pitying, when he notices the bag Okuyasu’s carrying. "Are you- are you going to school?!"

There’s something almost apologetic in the way he nods. "Keicho set it up. We were supposed to be staying a while, so." 

"You, uh, probably don't have to go right away, y’know."

"Ah, yeah, but he wouldn’t… I can't skip too much - I'm too dumb to do makeup work on my own. Besides, there's... nothing really to do in the house."

Right. Makes sense.

Well, that's some heavy shit.

There's a beat of silence, graduating from ‘awkward’ to ‘uncomfortable’. The atmosphere’s thick enough to choke on, and right as Josuke thinks he's going to suffocate, Okuyasu clears his throat.

"Hey, uh. Thanks."

The whole exchange has been surreal from the start, but out of everything, this is what gets Josuke feeling blindsided. "For what?"

"Well. Y’know." he mutters something indistinct, but before Josuke can ask again, he continues with "there's a great ice cream shop on the way to school. My treat, since I tried to kill you and stuff. I mean, if you want to?"

"No way," is Josuke's immediate and incredulous response, and when he realizes how that sounds, he's quick to explain "if anything I should be treating you. Yesterday was rough."

"Just take it," Okuyasu chides, lightly cuffing him on the shoulder. "This is a rare, once in a lifetime opportunity, y'hear? You’ll never get a chance like this again."

Josuke appreciates the gesture, he doesn’t want to seem ungrateful, but. Yesterday was _rough,_ and he’s the one that got off easy. "We'll just have to treat each other," he decides.

It takes a second, but for the first time since he’s met him Okuyasu seems to drop his stance from stiff to something approaching natural. "What's the point of that, huh? You're such a stubborn guy!" But he says that with a smile on his face and Josuke can’t help but smile back as they amble towards school at a comfortable pace, walking side by side.

**Author's Note:**

> I know we're supposed to assume that Okuyasu doesn't immediately go to school and befriend everyone, but also, the very next chapter they're hangin' out, what the heck are we supposed to take from that


End file.
